Recently, Russian Intelligence leaked an audio call of a German military officer using an unsecured phone line at a Singapore hotel igniting a fresh controversy and irked tension between the Russian Federation and Germany. The leaked call features four high-ranking German air force officers discussing hypothetically how Germany made Taurus long-range cruise missiles could be used by Kyiv against invading Russian forces, which embarrassed the German government and inflamed the tensions between the two countries. Surprisingly, the German government neither questioned the audio leak nor denied the accusations about Germany’s alleged provision of lathel cruise missiles to Kyiv that might have grave consequences for Russian troops who otherwise advanced rapidly into Eastern Ukraine in recent weeks.
The war in Ukraine has entered its third year with Russian forces now in a better position on the battlefield with multiple successes on various fronts. Russia has stepped up its defenses to its western borders after Finland and Sweden officially joined the NATO military bloc. Ukraine’s war efforts are gradually weakening and Kyiv’s troops are sliding back in multiple places due to a scarcity of troops, arms, and ammunition. Unfortunately, the EU assistance package for Ukraine faced staunch opposition from multiple members at the EU Parliament wherein the $ 60 billion proposed Ukraine aid package of the Biden administration met the same fate in US Congress. Thus, the entire burden shifted on Burlin, which had been the third largest provider of economic and military assistance to Ukraine after the US and the UK. In recent months, Germany has been under tremendous pressure to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine in response to urgent calls from Kyiv, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz has however declined to approve the deliveries, fearing it could draw Germany into the war.
The strategic impact of the Russia-Ukraine war continues to evolve, and its long-term consequences will depend on how the conflict ultimately plays out and the actions of various stakeholders including Russia, Ukraine, the United States, and its allies, which are resolutely stood beside Kiev and adding to the hostility through all possible means. The Ukraine conflict has potential to transition into a nuclear as well as global conflict as war reaches a decisive point. Although Adolf Hitler was died at the end of World War II, yet the world has no scarcity of such characters in the 21st century. The world leaders have the choice to wait for the catastrophe or resolve the issue through talks and diplomacy.
